The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire, more particularly to a tread groove configuration capable of improving uneven wear without sacrificing wet performance.
usually, a passenger tire is provided in the tread portion with axial grooves inclined with respect to the tire axial direction in order to improve wet performance. In such tire, tread blocks circumferentially divided by the inclined axial grooves are liable to wear unevenly starting from their acute-angled corners and suffer from so-called heel-and-toe wear.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 09-002019, in order to improve such heel-and-toe wear, oblique grooves constituting a unidirectional tread pattern symmetrical with respect to the tire equator are each configured such that the inclination angle of the toe-side groove-sidewall is larger than the inclination angle of the heel-side groove-sidewall in connection with the intended tire rotational direction.
Such groove-sidewall configuration, however, can not fully reduce the heel-and-toe wear especially in the tread shoulder regions. Further, it can not be employed in a bidirectional tread pattern because the heel-and-toe wear are accelerated.